First starts for Van den Berg, Nortje as Boks make 10 changes
Scrumhalf Morne van den Berg and lock Ruan Nortje will earn their first Test starts in a much-changed Springbok team for the Rugby Championship clash with the Wallabies in Perth on Saturday.
Coach Rassie Erasmus has made 10 changes to the starting line-up which beat Australia 33-7 in Brisbane.
Salmaan Moerat will captain the team from lock while regular skipper Siya Kolisi is one of nine players who are rotated.
Marco van Staden (loose forward) is promoted from the bench to take Kolisi’s No 6 jersey, while the only players retaining starting places are Cheslin Kolbe (wing), Jesse Kriel (centre), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (flyhalf), Elrigh Louw (No 8) and Pieter-Steph du Toit, who moves from lock to flanker).
The changes to the team were motivated by Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus’ desire to continue finding the balance between building momentum and expanding squad depth.
“We made it clear from the outset this season that one of our main goals is to build squad depth with an eye on the next Rugby World Cup here in Australia, and we feel there is no better way to test some of the younger players and assess where we are as a group against a top-Tier nation, especially away from home, in this match,” said Erasmus.
“We have a group of about 45 players that are part of our wider squad this season and we’ve seen what most of these players can do. We have full faith in the younger generation of players coming through, and we feel this is the right time to Test them against an Australian outfit that will be desperate to bounce back strongly from last weekend.”
Props Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Thomas du Toit, and hooker Johan Grobbelaar are back in the starting team as the front row after lining up against Portugal in the historic Test in Bloemfontein last month.
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Five other players who were members of that emphatic 64-21 victory also join them in Van den Berg, Aphelele Fassi (fullback), Lukhanyo Am (inside centre), Makazole Mapimpi (wing) and Manie Libbok (flyhalf), with the latter starting on the replacements bench showing a traditional split of five forwards and three backs.
Erasmus added: “All of the younger players made a strong impression against Portugal and in the other Tests in which they received an opportunity to showcase their skills, and we believe that their hunger to play, combined with their individual skills will be a fantastic driving force for them to build on the result in Brisbane.”
The rotation also allows time to regenerate for a handful of players who have been regulars in the team this season, with another four Tests left in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship after this weekend – two against New Zealand in Johannesburg and Cape Town, one against Argentina in Santiago and the closing match of the tournament against Los Pumas in Nelspruit.
“We have a big squad, and it’s important to balance some players’ workload while at the same time bringing a few young players into the mix, and this squad allows us to do both,” said Erasmus.
“This also means that every player in this travelling squad will have an opportunity to play. All of the players who have been excluded from the squad have been regulars this season and we feel we’ll benefit in different ways by resting them this week.”
